Youthful
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Cedric is practicing a spell for rejuvenation, as requested by King Roland for a queen in a neighboring kingdom, and decides to test it out on himself. When the spell goes more awry than expected, he ends up turning himself into the child version of himself, much to Sofia's delight. (Warning: FLUFFY. Super sugary and overly sweet. ;p There, Royal Detective. It's officially fluffy!)


Youthful

Summary: Cedric is practicing a spell for rejuvenation, as requested by King Roland for a queen in a neighboring kingdom, and decides to test it out on himself. When the spell goes more awry than expected, he ends up turning himself into the child version of himself, much to Sofia's delight.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or a rejuvenation spell. Haha

A/N: A reader ("brave kid" I believe) contacted me some time ago asking if I could write a Cedric-as-a-child story. I know it's been done before, but I said I'd try to make it as original as I could. Lol. We'll see how this goes… Plus, little Cedric is _adorable_, and I'm certain he and Sofia would be great friends. Of course, since I tend to stay on the same timeline as the original show, everything will work out to stay on track with the show. :) Here we go!

"Ugh, Wormy is _not_ a crow—he's a _raven_!" Cedric griped as he peered over a letter supposedly written to him. "Honestly, Wormy, you would think people would know the difference between ravens and crows." Hearing an agreeing caw, he rolled his eyes. "Well, what else would I expect from Greylock? He just likes to play around too much."

"Ugh," Wormwood sighed with a shake of his head. Leave it to his owner's sometimes-friend/most-times-rival to start another quarrel.

"Well, no matter. I can't expect him to be reasonable on the best days—why should I expect any less otherwise?" He stored the letter under his table and looked up when he heard a knock. "Come in."

Sofia walked inside and shut the door behind her before moving over to her usual chair. She sat down and smiled serenely at her friend.

Cedric blinked at the girl. "Yes?"

She giggled. "How is everything going, Mr. Cedric?"

"Well, let's see. Greylock doesn't know the difference between a crow and a raven. Baileywick threw away a fresh batch of Fly Cakes because he _thought_ he saw a rat near them. And now I'm to create some rejuvenation spell for a queen I've never met."

"Yeah, Dad was talking about that at dinner last night. Why do some ladies want to look younger than they are?"

He chuckled at her innocent question. "I suppose it's because they like to cling to a time of their lives that they've since left behind. Call it vanity or nostalgia, but it happens to a lot of people—not just women."

"That's kind of sad," the girl declared with a sigh. She then looked toward the vials he'd gathered and tilted her head. "You've already made the potion?"

"Mm, well, I've made a sample. In order to make it last for the queen who ordered it, I'd have to most likely put it into a perfume bottle or something."

"So the potion makes her look younger then?"

"Yes, or rather it retains the youthful look she's aiming for. However, too much may cause some sort of reverse effect…" He chuckled at her confused look. "Never mind. Now, let's see then." He pushed some of the vials aside and picked up the one with the rejuvenation potion before looking around curiously. "Wormy, what happened to my wand?"

Wormwood rolled his eyes and glanced toward Sofia. "Tell him to look in that box you gave him. He put it in there earlier."

Sofia glanced toward the wand box she'd made him last Wassailia. "Maybe you put it in the box?"

"Ha, now why would I do that when I use it during our lessons? Then again, maybe I did." He walked over to the wand box and opened it, extracting his family wand and blinking. "Well, there it is. Look at that…"

The princess giggled. "You're so silly sometimes, Mr. Cedric."

"So I've been told." He grinned and turned back to her. "Now then, what's say we test this out? Just a small drop should do the trick, and you'll see just what it can do." He stepped forward once. "I—whoa!" He slipped on what appeared to be a vial stopper and fell, dropping the potion sample and spilling all of the contents on himself. "Oh, no…"

"Are you all right?" Sofia dropped from her seat onto the stone floor and knelt down to her mentor. She gasped when her friend vanished before her eyes and was replaced with a much younger version of himself. "Mr. Cedric…?"

"Oh, my head," the younger Cedric complained as he rubbed his head. He looked up at Sofia and blinked. "Sofia? What are…_why_ do I sound like a little boy?"

"Um…" She giggled uncertainly and stood up, grabbing a mirror from his desk, before returning to him and handing it to him. "Just don't get upset…"

Cedric frowned and took the mirror, his mouth dropping as he looked at his reflection in surprise. "Oh, my… Oh, no!" He grasped the vial and held it upside down in vain, willing it to produce even the tiniest drop. "Ugh, perfect." He tossed the vial to the side, watching it clatter against the stone and settle against the wall.

"Is there a counter spell—er, potion?" the girl wondered as she stood and reached for his hands, taking them and pulling him to his feet.

"Of course there is," he sighed. "There usually is. But I'd have to create it from scratch, and it took hours to make that first one. Plus I'm running low on ingredients, and it's too late to find any tonight." He folded his arms and frowned. "I can't believe I was so clumsy and let this happen." He glanced at his apprentice and noticed her smiling at him. "What?"

She blinked and laughed a little. "Nothing… It's just… Well, you're my size now!"

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her statement and couldn't help smiling. "Only temporarily, my dear. The moment I retrieve the necessary ingredients and manage to get my potion created, I'll be back to myself."

"Don't worry. Everything will be okay." Sofia smiled and reached forward, hugging him. She sighed when he returned the hug before releasing her. She stepped back and laughed. "It's really weird…"

"What's that?"

"I was able to hug you without you having to lean down. You normally really are tall, Mr. Cedric."

He rolled his eyes at her playful observation. "Only to you, Sofia. Well, suffice it to say our lessons will be on hold for the time being. I'll be working to see if I can find a corrective potion in the meantime."

"I could help you," Sofia suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe tomorrow, when it's not so late."

"But—"

Cedric held a finger to her lips and smiled. "Good night, Princess."

Sofia giggled and relented. "Good night, Mr. Cedric," she returned after he'd dropped his hand to his side. She turned and left the room, pulling the door shut behind her once more.

The now younger sorcerer sighed in aggravation and glanced toward Wormwood, who was watching him with interest. "This is just my luck, isn't it, Wormy?"

The raven cawed in agreement before flying down to land on his master's shoulder. He nudged the Royal Sorcerer's cheek.

"Thanks, Wormy…"

"He did what?" Clover laughed as Sofia told him the story of what had happened that evening. "Oh, man, that's rich, kid! I knew Cedric's ability to mess up his spells and potions would come back on him someday."

"But it was an accident, Clover," the young girl corrected with a sigh as she watched her friend settling onto one of her pillows. "He didn't mean for it to happen."

"He never does. So what's he look like now? Still clumsy and awkward?"

The auburn-haired girl shook her head. "He's just a shorter version of Mr. Cedric…a little bit taller than me, same clothes, just younger." She smiled and glanced at her hands. "Just younger…"

Clover eyed her curiously. "Eh, Sofia?"

Sofia blinked and looked toward the bunny before giggling and settling into her covers. "Night, Clover." She closed her eyes and sighed with a happy smile on her face.

Clover shook his head and rolled his eyes before nestling into his pillow. "Kids," he muttered.

"Oh, no," little Cedric whined the next morning when he realized he could no longer easily navigate his workshop as he normally would. Now he knew how Sofia felt, having to climb onto chairs to see things better. Granted, it wasn't _that_ bad, but it still irritated him to no end. "Wormy!" Cedric had located a potion that could turn him back to normal, but he was going to need some help.

Wormwood had grown annoyed with the boy's constant complaining much faster than he thought he would. He understood Cedric's frustration, but really…did he have to be such a pest about the whole situation? Still, he flew to his friend's aid and landed on his shoulder.

Cedric pointed toward one of the higher shelves, purposely placed so younger kids—specifically troublemaking princes (*cough* James *cough*)—would remain safe. "I can't reach my vial box. Can you get it?"

Rolling his eyes but complying, the raven flew upward, grasped the box in his talons, and set it on the table so his master could clamber up to see them better and work with the items within easier.

"Thanks, Wormy!" little Cedric gushed with a grin, making the bird smirk and fly back to his perch. Hearing a knock, he called, "Come in, Sofia!" He then paused and winced, muttering, "I…_hope_ it's Sofia…" He looked around nervously, not wanting to have to explain his current predicament to anyone else.

Sofia pushed the door open and shut it behind her as she leaned against it. She was breathing rather heavily, as if she'd been running.

The sorcerer blinked. "Are you all right?"

"I just had to talk _very_ fast and outrun Baileywick. He said something about coming to clean your workshop for spring cleaning, but I told him I would do it."

He grinned. "Really now?" Using his wand, he opened the closet door and sent a broom in her direction, laughing when she squeaked and caught it. "Have at it then, Princess."

The princess smiled mischievously and walked over to her friend, holding the broom out toward him. "I don't think so. I just said that to distract Baileywick. Besides, if anyone should clean, you should. This is _your_ workshop."

"Yes, but you are _my_ apprentice, and have as such agreed to some cleaning sessions now and again."

"Mm, true, but…" She grinned and leaned forward, whispering, "You're my size now, and I don't take commands from other kids."

Cedric smirked. "Is that so? You want to be difficult? All right, two can play that game." He reached up and snatched her tiara before opening and running through the door and bolting down the stairs. "Catch me if you can!" his voice echoed through the stairwell.

Sofia gasped in surprise before laughing. "Mr. Cedric! Get back here!" She took off after him.

Wormwood looked utterly baffled as he watched each of them leave. Apparently, being turned into a child made Cedric more childish for some reason, and the princess wasn't helping matters with her retaliations. He rolled his eyes. "Humans…"

Outside, the princess finally reached the pint-sized sorcerer and all but tackled him to the ground, pulling her tiara from his hands rather easily. "Gotcha," she giggled, making him laugh breathlessly and hold up his hands in defeat.

"All right, I give." He sat up and blinked when Sofia stood and placed her tiara back on her head before offering her hands to him. He accepted them and pulled himself up again. "Right then… Um…" He looked around, his eyes scanning the area. "Well, now that we're outside, we can gather the ingredients for the…the potion."

"The what?" Sofia asked distractedly before blinking. "Oh! Right…" She giggled sheepishly and nodded. "Just lead the way, Mr. Cedric. We'll get you back to yourself in no time."

He smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah…"

It took about an hour and a lot of team work, but the mini sorcerer and his overly helpful apprentice managed to collect all the necessary items required for his new potion to turn him back to normal. Once they determined that everything was clear, they quickly hurried back up to the top of his tower once more.

With a great deal of effort, some trial and error, and aid from Wormwood, Cedric and Sofia had created the potion that would reverse his age reversal.

He poured the final product into a small vial and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he mumbled, holding the vial up.

"Wait!" Sofia stopped him by reaching out and grasping his raised arm. She then smiled gently at his baffled expression. "I just…I had fun with little Mr. Cedric."

Cedric's eyes softened as he observed her. "Sofia…"

"Just promise me that when you turn back into your normal self, we can still have fun like that. We need to do more fun things, Mr. Cedric. It's really good for you to get out and be silly every now and then."

He chuckled. "I promise." Seeing her nod happily and release his arm, he poured the potion over his head and stepped back as he returned to his normal size. "Wow… Now I know what people mean by 'head rush.'"

"Mr. Cedric!" Sofia giggled and reached forward, hugging her mentor excitedly.

Cedric smiled and returned her hug. "Thank you for your help, Princess Sofia…and for teaching me to have a little fun while we were at it."

She nodded and grinned up at him. "Any time." She then looked at the scattered vials in concern. "But…what about the queen's rejuvenation potion?"

"Hmm… Yes, I suppose I'll have to get back to that…" Seeing she was distracted, he took her tiara again and took off through down the stairs. "Later!"

Sofia gasped in surprise and laughed, chasing after him. "No fair, Mr. Cedric! You got a head start!"

Wormwood shook his head. "Unbelievable…" He sighed and yawned, tucking his head down to rest as he heard the laughter of his master and the princess echo through the halls of the castle once again.

The end

A/N: This actually came out better than I thought it would. I love playful Cedric (especially his younger form), and I think Sofia's a good "distraction" from work so he can just have fun every now and then. :) Don't we all need that at some point? Anyway, I hope you all liked it, especially brave kid. :D

CedricAmber: Glad you liked "Under the Galaxies," and yeah, I had a lot of fun with that one. :P I can just picture Amber's multicolored bags floating around. Haha! I'm also not a fan of "creepy-crawly" things, especially if I can't SEE them. SHIVER. Lol. I'm glad you finally saw Frozen Fever and Cinderella! I cracked up laughing at the Hans thing. I didn't see it coming! And I like both Cinderella movies about equally. The cartoon for the nostalgia, and the new one for the sheer beauty of it. You're welcome once more. ;) I'm glad to have you as a friend…and a fellow "let's-torture-Cedric-for-the-heck-of-it-because-we-really-love-him" fan. :D Hehe

theblindwriter95: HEY! Thank you! I'm very excited to have THREE new episodes out today. I don't know what to do with myself. Haha! And yeah, I know with the style of the show, "dark" story lines will be rare, but as you said that's what we're for. ;) Of course, I usually tend to stay somewhat "light," so…lol. Ah, well!

Sofia2015: I'm sorry about your grandfather and hope he stays strong. I lost my grandfather almost 13 years ago, and it's always hard. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. :) And…I love Baileywick too much to let him go. Lol. May see if there's an alternative though.

LongLiveNiNoKuni: Hi! Yes, I've seen you around in the reviews before, and thank you for always commenting. :) I do take requests sometimes, like I did with this one, as long as I can fit it in or if it works along with the story lines I usually create. And I LOVE your idea. I'd be glad to write that story for you. I, uh… :D I already made a cover photo and I have a title ready. :p I'll probably start working on it next week since I'll be on Spring Break. (FINALLY) Fantastic idea, by the way. I hope you do get your own account someday. It's really rewarding to write for the fandom you love and get feedback. There's nothing like it. ;) Keep an eye out within the next—I'd say—six days. :D

MEANWHILE, Princess2Princess will be my next update, so hang in there for that. I'll be gone on a "mini vacation" from Saturday to Tuesday, but if I have any downtime, I'll be writing. ;) Hope you all enjoyed, and see you in the next story/update! And as always, thank you for your reviews and support! Y'all mean the world to me. ~AquaTurquoise


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